Thursday, April 24, 2014

I can't believe I managed to capture these shots of a hummingbird in flight. Pure luck! It was extra-bright that day, too, so I was basically just pointing my camera in the vague direction of the bird and hoping for the best.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Some of you may remember that I had to start over with my roses because the damn gophers continued to destroy them. We dug up all but one, bought new bushes, and put them in gopher baskets. They produced a few blooms last year, but this year they've really been spectacular. These are soooo fragrant, in addition to being quite beautiful. I'm hoping this is the first of two bloom cycles. We need smell-o-vision!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

On Sunday I took a little field trip to White Mountains Ranch with a few Garden Club friends. The farm focuses on heritage breed animals, and it is a real labor of love.

As we walked up a hill from the driveway, we were greeted by a trotting herd of baby Nubian goats. O.M.G. Cuteness overload! They were all bottle fed so are sweet and docile and loving--they want to be petted, and they actually wag their little tails. They run around in little groups, and if one finds itself separated, it very loudly yells: "Maaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

These are adult females; the male sires are kept separated in a pen.

A goat herd! A herd of goats! Love love love! Action shot below--they were a bit hard to photograph (even though I have tons more pix of them) because they are constantly in motion.

And as if that weren't enough cuteness: puppies!!!! Nine fluffballs. They are part Anatolian shepherd--that's Toli, the mom, below (and check out that heart on her forehead)--and dad is a Pyrenees mix, both very sweet and mellow dogs. These breeds are not herders: they stay in the pasture/field with livestock and literally guard them. They're large: 100 pounds or so.

These are heritage turkeys. What a face...

Roosters and chickens...

And the view...

A really fun little excursion. I'm one of those adults who goes into the petting zoo, so you can imagine that I was in heaven here!

Friday, April 11, 2014

When Tallulah Mae visits the vet, it's a bit like a three-ring circus: noise, action, controlled chaos. She loves the people there, but she's anxious, so there is a lot of Tallulah talk (whine, howl, peep, mumble, pant, whine).

She's checking out some treats in photo 3--fortunately she didn't hit the keyboard and erase the entire database for the vet clinic. Silly girl!